Former Celtic captain Roy Aitken believes that Scott Brown has earned the right to be seen as influential a Parkhead skipper as anyone else who has worn the armband.
In a 15-year playing career at Celtic, Aitken won six titles, five Scottish Cups and one League Cup and was regarded as one of the iconic captains of the club.
Scott Brown has played arguably the best football of his career this season under Brendan Rodgers and Aitken has insisted that he has more than proved himself at Celtic - and has also insisted that there is plenty of football still in the 31-year-old.
He has led the club to numerous victories and he is a player that others look up to," said Aitken. "He wears his heart on his sleeve, he performs on the pitch, he gets the best out of himself and he gets the best out of others. That is the job of the captain and I think he has done a terrific job. I was fortunate enough to see Scott come into the Scotland team away back when I was there with Alex. He played a little bit more on the right-side but I seen him as a young player and he was always going to become a top player. He has went from strength to strength on the park and he is not finished yet. I think there are more years in him yet and there are a lot more trophies in him yet.”
And Aitken has also insisted that the Hoops players will feel no pressure this afternoon as the look to complete the final step on their way to a domestic Treble, but will rather go out and savour the experience.
"They know exactly what is going on," said Aitken. "Top players go into these kind of games looking to show their skill, show their ability. It is Hampden, it is a nice pitch, a big crowd and hopefully a good day. It is not a tight pitch at a small ground, it is a massive showpiece game and I think the best players always rise to the occasion."
And Aitken has also maintained that there will be no sense of entitlement on the part of Rodgers' side at Hampden.
“I don’t think they will take it for granted," he said. "I don’t think Brendan would allow it. They know they have got to go out and play well to beat a strong Aberdeen team. It is not a case of turn up and the Cup is ours. He will know and the players will know that they have got to turn up and play well. I don’t see any reason for them not to win. They are in a good vein of form and they are so much better than the rest.
"Pressure is a given, it is part of the expectation of being a Celtic player – you must win and if you can’t deal with that then you move on and someone else comes in. This is a Celtic team who have played in big European ties this year."
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